MICHIGAN CITY | The public is being given the opportunity to visit Mount Baldy for the first time since an Illinois boy became trapped in an opening in the sand there nearly two years ago.
The National Park Service is offering 22 ranger-guided hikes on select Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings between June 5 and Sept. 6.
The hikes will traverse a trail on the western edge of the dune that has been determined to be safe, according to the park service. The hikes are free, but reservations are required and groups will be limited no more than 30 people.
Reservations and more information are available by calling the visitor center at (219) 395-1882.
The park service announced earlier this year that Mount Baldy will remain closed to the public again this summer as work continues to determine what caused 6-year-old Nathan Woessner of Sterling, Ill., to become trapped for more than three hours after being swallowed by the dune July 12, 2013.
"We need to find out what happened and use that information to keep the public safe," said Charles Morris, one of the scientists working to determine if the 126-foot-high sand dune near Michigan City is safe.
The guided hikes will begin at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center with a brief introduction, according to the park service. Rangers will guide visitors during the one-hour hike to a high point on the dune that overlooks the location where mysterious holes were first observed nearly two years ago.
Visitors will learn how scientists are continuing to work to unravel the mystery of Mount Baldy's holes and how park staff is restoring the native plants that used to grow on portions of the dune.
All other areas of the 15,000 acres of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the neighboring Indiana Dunes State Park remain open to the public. A decision on full public access to the approximately 100 acres of Mt. Baldy that is closed will be determined following the completion of the scientific research sometime later this year.